May pushes Turnbull for post-Brexit deal

Australia may end up having its pick of post-Brexit trade deals after British Prime Minister Theresa May again confirmed her support for a UK-Australia deal.

In a call on Thursday morning (local time) the two prime ministers welcomed the progress a trade working group has made, Downing Street said in a statement.

Mr Turnbull and Mrs May "reiterated their commitment to an ambitious UK-Australia trade deal once the UK has left the EU", the statement said.

The call comes a day after the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced it wanted to ink a free trade deal with Australia and New Zealand in the next two years.

The European Union and the UK can't sign any new trade deals until the divorce proceedings, which are due to be wrapped up by March 2019, are finalised.

The Turnbull government has previously said it hopes to finalise a trade deal with the EU by 2019.

In the wide-ranging call the two leaders discussed geopolitical tensions, with Mrs May condemning the violence in Myanmar.

Mr Turnbull extended his sympathies to Mrs May following the destruction of Hurricane Irma, which has devastated the British overseas territories in the Caribbean, especially the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.

Mrs May welcomed Australia's role in tougher sanctions on North Korea and said she will continue to push the EU to implement harsher measures.

Mrs May "also stressed the importance of China's role in putting pressure on North Korea and of the international community continuing to work together to achieve a diplomatic solution", the statement said.

The two leaders also discussed a foiled Sydney terror plot, with the UK prime minister commending Australian authorities for stopping plans to bomb a plane.